{"id":15150,"date":"2010-12-22T10:20:05","date_gmt":"2010-12-22T08:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=15150"},"modified":"2011-01-02T20:06:49","modified_gmt":"2011-01-02T18:06:49","slug":"restaurant-review-planet-restaurant-puts-mount-nelson-hotel-amongst-the-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/restaurant-review-planet-restaurant-puts-mount-nelson-hotel-amongst-the-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant review: Planet Restaurant puts Mount Nelson Hotel amongst the stars!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>After a closure of a few months for\u00a0a complete make-over, the old Cape Colony at the Mount Nelson Hotel is no more, and what has arisen in its space is the new Planet Restaurant, based on an extension of the planetary theme of the Planet Bar, opening about three weeks ago.\u00a0\u00a0It gives the restaurant, and the hotel with it, a modern feel worthy of the quality of Chef Rudi Liebenberg’s culinary skills.<\/p>\n

For a new restaurant to have so much money thrown at it is unusual, with ads in the Sunday Times <\/strong>costing a fortune, even if they are in black and white, and obviously the decor changes were expensive too.\u00a0 Therefore it was a surprise that when we tried to make the booking\u00a0a few days prior to our dinner, it was such a struggle to make it with Emmanuel, one of the Ma\u00eetre d’h\u00f4tel.\u00a0\u00a0 Chef Rudi has been at the hotel for two years now, but the restaurant staff\u00a0is refreshingly new.\u00a0 Restaurant Manager Andreas van Breda\u00a0moved to Cape Town after a long stint at Claridges in London.\u00a0\u00a0 For the first time the restaurant has a sommelier, and they could not have appointed a nicer person than Carl Habel, whom I first met at Myoga, and who remembered my love for Shiraz when he came to say hello, even though he was\u00a0off duty, a reflection of how good he is at customer service.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He enthused about his new job, and his respect for Chef Rudi, whose focus is on quality produce, and on sourcing local ingredients, which makes it easy for him to pair the Planet Restaurant’s food and wine.\u00a0\u00a0 It is hard to believe that the Mount Nelson, one of Cape Town’s top hotels, has never had a sommelier before!\u00a0\u00a0 It was lovely to receive the warm welcome at the entrance to the hotel from Osnat Gropper, the concierge, and a Twitter friend.<\/p>\n

The interior design was done by DHK Interiors, and they have used a less-is-more decor approach, removing the piano and the old-fashioned Capescape mural (excellent decisions).\u00a0\u00a0 As one walks down the passage from the Planet Bar, one notices the panels of strings of blue and clear glass balls, representing the planetary theme, interspersed with massive mirrors with illustrations\u00a0representing the signs of the zodiac, which is carried into the restaurant itself.\u00a0\u00a0 Unfortunately not all\u00a0twelve signs are represented, so I was disappointed to not see Sagittarius on one of the mirrors, having come for a birthday celebration.\u00a0\u00a0The new restaurant is a clean crisp white space, with a central chandelier and new carpet that echo the planetary\u00a0theme.\u00a0 The furniture has been replaced, with brown tables, and velvet-covered cream chairs.\u00a0 In the centre the seating is leather couches.\u00a0The tables are covered with boring placemats (for the\u00a0stature of the restaurant and the hotel it could do with a good quality tablecloth), beautiful cutlery from Hepp Exclusive, good light glassware, and a set of modern salt and pepper grinders from Peugeot, which I had also seen a few days earlier\u00a0at the restaurant at Delaire Graff<\/a>.\u00a0 The planetary theme is extended into the sparkly covers of the winelist, the menu and the billfold, as well as on the inside first pages of the menu and winelist. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The menu is extravagant, running to many pages, with a few items per page. It is printed on a\u00a0good quality cream board.\u00a0 It has an introductory statement by Chef Rudi, and is signed by him, stating: “Our kitchen is all about a journey, a journey with many new and sometimes unexpected variables and it is for this reason that we come back inspired and motivated every day. ….The foundation of our process starts with respect, respect for the ingredient, respect for the process, respect for the end product and respect for the guest.\u00a0\u00a0 The majority of our ingredients are sourced locally and prepared using a wide range of modern as well as classical cooking methods”.\u00a0\u00a0 An insert offers the “Chef’s Suggestions”.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Two tasting menu options are available, strangely a “Vegan Journey” one listed\u00a0first, followed by the “Journey”, a non-vegan one, both charged at R380 per person for a minimum of two persons to order, and consisting of six courses each.\u00a0\u00a0 Each wine recommendation for the tasting menu is priced separately. \u00a0Thereafter the menu has a la carte menu options.\u00a0\u00a0 Commendably items on the menu\u00a0are specially marked with a symbol, reflecting\u00a0them being vegetarian, vegan and containing nuts, where relevant.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Before we could think of choosing anything,\u00a0 complimentary glasses of Genevieve MCC were brought to the table, as was a small plate of canap\u00e9s (duck rillette, salmon and feta,\u00a0as well as ostrich tartare).\u00a0 If an amuse bouche is a first presentation of the skills of the chef, then this plateful was a disappointment.\u00a0\u00a0 We had to ask for the bread.\u00a0\u00a0 Three bread options were offered – ciabatta, country bread (the waiter could not explain exactly what this bread contained)\u00a0and garlic bread.\u00a0\u00a0Starter options range in price from R65 for a “tomato variation, jelly, cloud, sorbet, greens, basil”, not easy to imagine what exactly is served; to R165 for crayfish ceviche and Namibian red crab remoulade.\u00a0 Duck and quail terrine, smoked salmon trout, and oysters are also available.\u00a0 One can also order soup and salads, including a crocodile salad (R90), a menu item from the old Cape Colony menu.\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I chose\u00a0a cold\u00a0asparagus soup (R85)\u00a0as the starter, and it was a surprise to have the plate served with a tower of asparagus mousse topped with thin slices of cucumber.\u00a0\u00a0 I have seen ceremonious pouring of soup at a table, but the waiter pouring the soup out of the water glass brought from the kitchen by hand, without it being on a tray or in a prettier container, spoilt what I am sure the chef had intended for the presentation of the dish.\u00a0 I found\u00a0the dish very bland. It was served in an interesting soup bowl, with a hole in it for design effect.\u00a0 The advertised egg yolk was left out of the dish, for no reason.\u00a0\u00a0 My partner had a slow-cooked free-range egg with local cured ham and mature gouda, served with a pinotage reduction, which he enjoyed, but commented on the runny egg white.\u00a0\u00a0 This dish\u00a0was on the old Cape Colony menu too, and clearly is a hit, for it to have been retained.\u00a0\u00a0 For my main course I chose an extravagant\u00a0abalone and crayfish dish (R295).\u00a0\u00a0 The abalone was tiny, making me feel guilty in having chosen something that was clearly undersized (or alternatively out of a can).\u00a0\u00a0 It was cut into two, cooked, coated with herbs and then sauteed in butter, but did not have a distinctive abalone taste at all, the herbs\u00a0overpowering the usually distinctive taste.\u00a0 A tiny crayfish tail (more guilt), as well as asparagus spears and sweet corn added colour and taste to the dish, but I missed the velout\u00e9 advertised on the menu as being part of the dish.\u00a0\u00a0 No fish knife was served with this dish.\u00a0\u00a0 My partner’s flame-grilled beef fillet was butter soft, but the\u00a0saut\u00e9ed mushrooms, potato foam and mini fondants were\u00a0so badly over-salted that he could not\u00a0finish them\u00a0(R170).\u00a0 Other main course options are a pea risotto (R95); monkfish fillet, chicken, pork cheeks and belly, and mussels and calamari,\u00a0all costing R150; Karoo lamb (R190); and springbok (R180).\u00a0\u00a0 For those able to eat more, there is a choice of six desserts, costing around R65, and two cheese options.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Friandises were served with the excellent foamy cappuccino (R20).\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The 24-page winelist specifies vintages and origin, and is introduced with a page of “Sommelier’s latest discoveries”, which were three Solms-Delta wines: Amalie (R60\/R175), Langarm (R35\/R155), and Hiervandaan (R70\/R310), the serving by-the-glass specified at 175ml, making them expensive.\u00a0\u00a0 Five “Methode Cap Classique” 150ml wines-by-the-glass are listed, including Pierre Jourdan Brut (R45), Simonsig Brut Ros\u00e9 (R50)\u00a0and Genevieve Brut (R60), and surprisingly, the champagnes Billecart-Salmon Ros\u00e9 (R320)\u00a0and Veuve Cliquot (R210)\u00a0were also listed under this heading!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ten white and seven red wines-by-the glass, the former ranging from R35 – R65 per 175ml, and the latter ranging from R45 – R75 per\u00a0glass,\u00a0are offered.\u00a0\u00a0 I was disappointed at the small selection of red wines by the glass, and that none of them included a Shiraz.\u00a0 The rest of the winelist separates white wines into “Crisp and refreshing”, Fragrant and Floral”, “Rich and\u00a0Opulent” and “Signature and Cellar”.\u00a0\u00a0 Red wines are categorised into “Silky and Smooth”, “Elegant and Fresh”, “Rich and Concentrated”, and “The Great Reserve”.\u00a0 Unique Vin de Constance\u00a0and Hamilton Russell Pinot Noirvertical vintage selections\u00a0are also available, but require big cheque books!\u00a0\u00a0 Shiraz options by the bottle include Groote Post Reserve (R270), Waterford Kevin Arnold (R430), Saronsberg (R475), Cirrus (R1020), Hartenberg Stork (R1020), Saxenberg Select (R4435), De Trafford (R760),\u00a0and Fairview Beacon (R515).\u00a0 \u00a0Knowing my love for Shiraz, Carl recommended the Saronsberg 2007, a wine not usually available by the glass.\u00a0 On tasting, it was acceptable, but it had a taste to it that I did not like, the more I drank of it.\u00a0\u00a0We\u00a0were not\u00a0charged\u00a0for the wine.<\/p>\n

Having eaten at The Test Kitchen and Planet Restaurant on two consecutive nights, it is clear that the Planet Restaurant is more of a special occasion restaurant, with the staff smartly and professionally dressed befitting the five star status of the hotel, while the food at\u00a0The Test Kitchen\u00a0overall was better.\u00a0 The service levels were on a par.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Planet Restaurant still needs time to settle in, and for its quality to be consistent, whether Chef Rudi is on duty or not.\u00a0\u00a0The advertising\u00a0has not yet offered a return on its investment, as we were one of only five tables in what seemed to be a quiet hotel.\u00a0Having been on the Eat Out <\/strong>top 20 restaurant shortlist whilst at The Saxon, it will be interesting to see if Chef Rudi can take the Planet Restaurant onto the star top 20 restaurant shortlist for 2011.<\/p>\n

Planet Restaurant,<\/strong> Mount Nelson Hotel, 76 Orange Street, Gardens, Cape Town.\u00a0 Tel (021) 483-1000 www.planetbarandrestaurant.co.za<\/a>\u00a0(No menu or winelist on the website, and disappointingly almost no food photographs in the Gallery).\u00a0 Monday – Sunday dinner only.<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 Twitter: @WhaleCottage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a closure of a few months for\u00a0a complete make-over, the old Cape Colony at the Mount Nelson Hotel is no more, and what has arisen in its space is the new Planet Restaurant, based on an extension of the planetary theme of the Planet Bar, opening about three weeks ago.\u00a0\u00a0It gives the restaurant, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3,124,20,21],"tags":[9165,9140,6214,1515,32366,9145,9142,4915,9163,32378,9172,9141,9164,392,9144,1736,9143,9176,9175,3008,2311,9169,9173,9149,938,9166,1066,1326,35,4457,5460,9150,9167,7256,9074,9147,3625,1612,9148,9153,9174,145,9146,9168,65,1072,502,2293,7518,1587,9151,9152,9170,3211,1392,9171,32373],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t